Designed to acknowledge and champion the accomplishments of independent jewellery retailers over the past year, Retail Edge launched the Business Excellence Awards at last year’s International Jewellery Fair in Sydney.
Every member of Retail Edge’s Business Coaching program is entered into the award, which was hosted online this year. The finalists are assessed against rigorous financial and operational benchmarks built into each category's criteria.
The winner of Best Newcomer was Yarrawonga Showcase Jewellers (Victoria), celebrated for significant change within its first 12 months with Retail Edge, including a thorough financial reset and clear progress addressing stock and staffing challenges.
Jade Jewellers (Queensland) secured the Transformation Award for a full financial review, a defined budget, and measurable steps toward a stronger, more sustainable business.
The Sales Growth Award went to Matthews Jewellers (New South Wales) for delivering the strongest sustainable, like-for-like sales growth of the year on a full-year comparison.
Villani Jewellers was the winner of the Most Improved Award, recognised for standout gains in sales dollars, unit growth and gross profit performance against the prior year.
Finally, the coveted Store of the Year Award was won by Matthews Jewellers, and Retail Edge general manager Leon van Megen said it was a fitting acknowledgement of a remarkable business elevation.
“Matthews Jewellers was recognised for outstanding overall performance — combining sales and profit growth with strong business structure, marketing effectiveness, staff organisation and achievement of its goals,” van Megen explained.
“Matthews Jewellers was also a finalist across the Transformation, Sales Growth and Most Improved categories, capping a year of consistent, business-wide performance with the Store of the Year title.”
Van Megen thanked all participating retail partners, noting the community's commitment to growth and willingness to evolve as the driving force behind this year's results — with the company looking ahead to continued momentum through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.
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